Disney should run Titanic Belfast, says Northern Ireland economist

Professor Mike Smyth warns public sector involvement will limit success of Titanic Belfast as tourist venueDisney should have been asked to run Belfast's new Titanic attraction, one of Northern Ireland's leading economists has said, warning that the project could become "another white elephant".As the city prepares for the opening of Titanic Belfast, the �100m visitor centre built on the slipway where the ship was launched 100 years ago, Prof Mike Smyth expressed concern that public sector involvement in running the complex would hamper its development of as a tourist magnet.Ahead of the doors opening on 31 March, Smyth, who is also an economic adviser to the EU, said: "I really, really wish the new Titanic project well but I think, to excuse the pun, we are in danger of missing the boat."The University of Ulster economics lecturer continued: "Civil servants and the public sector in Northern Ireland are too risk averse. They are too concerned with ticking boxes and keeping a bureaucracy going that clogs up enterprise."It would have been far better to hand over the day-to-day running of the Titanic centre as a tourism venue to the people who know how to get bums on seats."They should have negotiated with the Disney organisation or the company that runs, say Alton Towers, in order to ensure that year in, year out the tourists keep coming to this part of Belfast. Having a public sector input will tie the hands of enterprising individuals who have to do the hard sell."Titanic Belfast stresses that it has brought together a host of stakeholders from the public and private sector including the attraction's designers Event Communications, whose other projects have included the Victoria & Albert Museum, the Imperial War Museum North and the Roman Baths in Bath."Operationally the team at Titanic Belfast includes senior personnel who have a track record of successfully running large public venues such as Belfast's Waterfront Hall," a spokesperson for the company said.Smyth pointed to the example of golf and a �100m golf resort a mile from the Giant's Causeway on the North Antrim coast as a warning about how developments can get clogged up by "do-gooders and box tickers."Even though the minister of environment, Alex Attwood, finally approved the scheme this month we may have missed out. People talk about our great golfers, our world-beaters like Rory McIlroy, Graeme McDowell and Darren Clarke and how we can capitalise on golf tourism as a result."But look at the record ? it took a decade to get permission to build that world-class resort on the North Antrim coast. And our record in bringing in golf tourist revenue has to be put in perspective. According to the figures golf tourism in Northern Ireland brought in around �15m in 2009. Yet the Open in somewhere like St Andrews or Troon just across the sea will bring in �100m of tourist revenue. In total, Scotland golf tourism brings in around �1bn per year," he said.The TitanicBelfastBelfastUnited KingdomEuropeNorthern IrelandNorthern IrelandMuseumsHeritageHenry McDonaldguardian.co.uk © 2012 Guardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. | Use of this content is subject to our Terms & Conditions | More Feeds

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